LL-L "Language policies" 2002.08.20 (14) [E]

Tue Aug 20 23:50:48 UTC 2002

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 20.AUG.2002 (14) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian L=Limburgish
 LS=Low Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic Z=Zeelandic (Zeeuws)
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From: "Friedrich-Wilhelm Neumann" <Friedrich-Wilhelm.Neumann at epost.de>
Subject: LL-L "Language policies" 2002.08.20 (09) [E]

Hi, Erek, Low- and Leeglanners,

You wrote:

> From: erek gass <egass at caribline.com>
> Subject: LL-L "Language policies"
>
> Colin Wilson's comment "Today if I were to speak in this same language
> [Scots]
> at work I would be both mocked and reprimanded or if a School pupli was
> to speak in this way he also would (be) disciplined." is at the very
> heart
> of why languages are being exterminated.  This level of official
> disrespect
> needs to be countered effectively.  The European Community's attempt to
> save existing languages is a start, but as long as school teachers
> verbally
> (or worse) abuse students speaking their local language, and languages
> are
> suppessed in the workplace, and socially, languages will be figuratively
> "lead the block" and actually slaughtered by attrition.
>
> I will share with you my view of the words "dialect", "mundart",
> "variant",
> and other such which have come to have the implied subterranean meaning
> of "inferior".  The recent list of words Ron supplied demonstrates, for
> example, that Scots IS a language in large descended from continental
> West
> Germanic languages brought to Britain by the Angles, Saxons, Jutes,
> Frisians,
> asf., and that it has evolved, in part, separately from "English", and,
> in many respects is closer to the original than is "English".
>
> When I
> see these various so-called "dialects" being discussed AS dialects, it
> demonstrates
> to me that some have come to think of these LANGUAGES as some
> second-rate
> offshoot of some other language.  This generally is not the case;
> rather,
> a separate language has simply evolved locally and is a full sister
> tongue,
> not a poor relation to be viewed as worthy of little except extinction.
> This kind of snobbery should be called exactly that, and toleration of
> such
> is and should be vexing.
>
> I happen to be a school director here in PA.  Several years ago, I
> reviewed
> a geography textbook.  Like so many American schoolbooks is was riddled
> with errors.  One that remains embedded in my mind was a review of
> Spain's
> languages.  It noted that "Catalan is a mixture of Spanish and French".
> Immediately, I realised that the textbook had, in the minds of its Jr
> High
> readers, inculcated the misconception that this great language (with a
> literary
> tradition as long and strong as that of any other Romance language) was
> nothing but a creole or patois, hence inherently beneath the quality of
> the languages from which it was (erroneously, of course) "derived".
>
> Perhaps, it should not be astonishing that so much of the work on
> preserving
> endangered languages is coming from within the Catalan-speaking
> community.
> Although we treat all of our interest areas with great respect, I intend
> to treat them as equals in my verbage.  If there is a Brabantish, for
> instance,
> it is a language.  Period.

It doesn't sound well and seems to be far away from EU-orders, laws and
regularies.

In Northern Germany we had the same status and development about 50
years
ago. I remember my times at Ordinary School, when many pupils, educated
at
home just in Low Saxon, were forced to learn Upper German.
But- at that times it seemed to be necessary; their Upper G. was too
bad,
they were definitely unable to work with the U.G. "mir" and "mich"
(pronominal Dat. and Accusat.), they used the (Upper G.) "tun" (to do)
in a
complete different way. Their vocabulary was a very small one, and they
had
really no chance to jump upon the starting "Wirtschaftswunder-"express.

The result: today in our region (somewhat different it is in East
Friesian)
there are only very few people under the age of about 50 years able to
understand Low Saxon, not to talk about those being able to speak (Ron
wrote
about this phenomene and even numbers some weeks ago).

Nowadays nobody will be any longer discriminated when talking L.S., but,
using this language, he will be absolutely unable to do any business
with a partner in, eg., Bavaria or Saxonia (perhaps it would better work
with Dutch or even Scots people *s*).

I fear it to be one of Darwin's rules: just strong. skillfull and
themselves
adapting species will survive.

But- I'm no longer hopeless, as far as our LL-languages are concerned,
since
I see my youngest child learning English starting at his eighth year, in
ordinary school already, and find him listening to me and my lowlandic
neighbours speaking our LL tongue. Well- I fear, I'm forcing him to
learn
Low Saxon, just as I was forced several 30 years ago ( on our farm we
had an
old worker, who told me one good day, now it would be the best time to
learn
"plattdeutsch". Good fellow- but at those day I hated him, because: for
every "hochdeutsches" word I got a strike with his whip, really! A good
receipt to learn a language, isn't it?), but he won't get any
intellectuell damage this way- will he?

And then- there still is LL-L! Look at Ron's
"Administrativa"/statistical
mails; more and more people are submitting and posting.

Keep hopefully!

Very best regards

Fiete.

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